Alpine Sim Racing’s Otis Lawrence has made history, becoming the youngest-ever Formula One Sim Racing World Champion.

The 18-year-old clinched the title in a dramatic final race to give Alpine its first Sim Racing title by just two points. The team also secured the runners-up spot in the Teams’ Championship and a share of the $750,000 prize fund.

With three wins and four pole positions, Otis delivered a number of standout performances across the 12-race campaign alongside team-mates Dani Bereznay and Josh Idowu. The Welshman secured victories at Suzuka, Silverstone and Austin to set up a tense final showdown at Event 4 earlier this week.

He finished fifth in the season finale in Abu Dhabi, which proved enough to secure the crown, but he was made to wait after the chequered flag while race stewards debated penalties for several in-race incidents. Finally, once it was confirmed Otis was World Champion, he paid tribute to his Alpine Sim Racing team:

“I’m so happy, my team is just amazing. They are just the best,” said Otis. “This was the most nerve-wracking event of my life, there were many times in the race where I thought I’d lost it. Credit to my championship rivals for such an amazing, hard-fought competition. The pressure has never been higher, but I’m super thankful to everyone and next year I’m going to try and take back-to-back titles!”

Event 4 got underway on Wednesday afternoon with Round 10 of the championship taking place in Mexico City. Unfortunately, Otis made a mistake during the second phase of qualifying, running wide and invalidating his lap. It meant he could only manage 15th on the grid, while team-mate Dani also failed to progress to Q3 and lined up P12.

The Welshman climbed as high as third while running the medium tyres during the second phase of the race, but he eventually dropped to seventh at the chequered flag. However, a post-race penalty for “denying another vehicle room” added one second to his race time, relegating him to ninth in the final classification.

Determined to make amends for the disappointment of the previous day, Otis arrived in São Paulo on Thursday eager to put the frustrations of Mexico behind him — and did so in emphatic style. He claimed a bonus point with a superb pole position — his fourth of the season — setting a 1m06.066s lap that was 0.024s clear of the opposition.

Knowing how critical the start would be, Otis opted to begin the race on the medium tyres. Despite a strong opening lap, he was unable to break clear of the pack and soon became embroiled in a cat-and-mouse battle for the lead, such was the power of DRS along the start/finish straight.

Otis pitted for hard tyres at the end of lap 12, but in the closing stages came under increasing pressure from rivals running on the faster medium compound. The tactics of those around him also complicated matters, and despite battling hard to maintain his position, Otis ultimately had to settle for third place at the flag.

For the Abu Dhabi season finale, Otis lined up third on the grid, with Dani in P6. Unfortunately, Dani’s race came to an abrupt end on lap 24 following an incident at the final corner, forcing him to retire. Meanwhile, Otis pitted at the end of lap 11 and defended hard as he attempted to take his tyres to the flag.

Unable to keep the drivers on the faster medium tyres behind as they charged through the field, Otis knew he needed fifth place to guarantee the title, but at one stage dropped to sixth. In a tense final encounter, which kept the stewards busy investigating several in-race incidents, Otis eventually crossed the line in P5.

After a nervy wait for the stewards to decide on various penalties, it was finally confirmed: Otis was World Champion on 156 points, winning the title by two points, with Alpine Sim Racing narrowly missing out on the Teams’ Championship by three points, finishing on 224 in the final classification.